One Last Corpse
by Might is Right
Summary: Mugino Shizuri is at the core of the dark side and she's sick of it. She's tired of being used and she's tired of killing. She has her own plan and won't let anybody stand in her way. But before she can escape she'll have to find the Cowardly Weasel. Desperate to escape the dark side, Mugino will face the problem head on. Meanwhile, Touma tries to stop her from making a fatal error
1. The Soil

A great majority of the people who live in Academy City do not know of the darkness that is hidden beneath the city's wonderful appearance. Many of them go to sleep at night without any serious issues to deal with. They think only of trivial issues that only create a mere inconvenience to their life. Will there be a sale on milk? Will the convenience store have enough coffee stocked? All of them know that they will wake up in the morning and be greeted with a bright future as long as they try their best because bad things only happen to other people. The great majority of those who live in Academy City make up a group known as the "Innocent Majority."

Mugino Shizuri was not part of the Innocent Majority.

In fact, she existed on the exact opposite of the scale. She was at the very core of the darkness that had planted its roots deep within Academy City.

The darkness that Shizuri was involved with was not something trivial that the media would dress up as something terrible when in reality it was something that could corrected with a carefully put together solution.

No, the darkness that existed within Academy City was something that the media wouldn't report because they were afraid. Afraid that if reported, they too would be dragged into it, never to escape. Many believe all evil is eventually vanquished because no night can last forever, no evil man can live forever, and no monument to evil can stand forever.

But this was an exception. The sun could not erase the inky black traces of the night even on the brightest of days. The evil men would die, but they would always be replaced by their sons and daughters or others who shared their views. There were always evil people to continue the work of those who came before. The evil monument was the city itself. It had survived through various conflicts that would have toppled even the most unified communities. It had withstood the test of time and that was enough to permanently solidify the dark side of Academy City.

The problems were obvious and they stood out like long, messy, black streaks on pure white paper. The paper was forever ruined by the black streaks and would be discarded.

The paper was imperfect.

Imperfections made Shizuri very angry.

Perfection? Name the price and Shizuri would gladly pay. It was her dream to be perfect. The quest to be perfect eventually led her to Academy City, the most advanced city in the entire world. As soon as Shizuri saw the city she knew it would become her home. After all, it looked perfect.

And so she was delighted to learn that she possessed a very powerful ability: Meltdowner. The rankings in Academy City went from 0 to 5 with 0 being absolutely worthless to 5 being the pinnacle of usefulness. Everything was perfect in Shizuri's eyes. She lived in a beautiful city, came from a wealthy family with an immaculate history, had an impressive ability that ranked her at the top of Academy City, and to top it all off, she was beautiful.

Shizuri was easily classified as a Level 5 and it appeared that her life was complete.

The rude awakening came when she discovered that she was not the only one who possessed a powerful ability. There were others who were just as strong if not stronger than she was.

It came as a shock when she was told that she was worthy of the title of "Strongest Esper." That was the beginning of Shizuri's descent into the darkness. She discovered that not only was she not worthy of being the strongest, she was also not good enough to be in the top three.

The damage dealt appeared to be a positive influence at first. Shizuri dedicated herself to her studies, always trying to become the strongest. She worked hard every day in order to achieve her goal. Her Meltdowner continued to grow stronger and Shizuri was confident she was strong enough to become the strongest in Academy City.

But she was wrong. The gap between the number one Level 5 in Academy City, a boy codenamed "Accelerator," and Mugino Shizuri, the ranked number four, was much too high. She couldn't even compete against him. This sent her into a state of rage that would stay with her for her entire life.

She was too weak and so, she made a decision that would change her life forever. She willingly stepped into the dark side of Academy City.

Shizuri performed well in the dark side. She never hesitated to take jobs because she knew that it was all in order to make her stronger. She believed every kill was a step closer to perfection.

But that sort of delusional thinking doesn't last forever.

Eventually, Mugino Shizuri, the infamous Meltdowner, got tired of killing. She never let it show because she was afraid that it would make her look weak, but the thought was there in her mind. While she had gotten much stronger thanks to the dark side, it had failed to give her what she wanted the most: perfection.

Additionally, the dark side had taken something she valued just under perfection: freedom. No longer was she able to take leisurely walks in the parks or go shopping whenever she pleased. No, she had to be alert in case a client contacted her with a job. There was no time for real leisure anymore. She was always on edge in case something happened and the stress of it all was ridiculous. It was too late to realize that the dark side had tricked her younger self with visions of becoming the strongest in Academy City and attaining perfection. Now she was little more than a slave.

Every job that she was ordered to take involved killing. She was ordered to kill every weak and sometimes it was every day. It wasn't even about Shizuri's needs anymore. It was about what the dark side wanted. She was sick of it all. She longed to escape and for the first time in her life, Mugino Shizuri set aside her obsession with perfection in order to wish that she could escape the dark side and be free one day.

…

ITEM's headquarters was unusually quiet and nobody was to be seen besides a woman with tea colored hair, lying on a couch within the lounge. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. Anybody who came into the room would be in awe when they saw her beautiful form lying still on the couch. After all, she was the Meltdowner, the fourth strongest Level 5 in Academy City and leader of ITEM.

Her phone was in her unmoving hand at her side and as soon as it rang her eyes snapped open and the phone was at her ear. She had been waiting for this call.

"Yes?"

"We super just got a job. It's supposed to be super important." said the voice on the other end.

Shizuri stood up and stretched. Judging by the abuse of the word "super," the caller was Kinuhata Saiai, one of ITEM's more experienced operatives. Shizuri thought about what Kinuhata said before responding.

"Oh? Tell me about it." said Shizuri as she sat back down on the couch.

"We're supposed to super raid a research center tonight. Apparently the client super doesn't want information that's supposed to be at the research center getting out so we're supposed to super destroy it and anyone else there."

"Oh, are we? Give me the location and I'll meet you all there. I suppose it'll be my entertainment tonight." said Mugino as Kinuhata told her the location and hung up.

The Meltdowner sat at the couch for a while just thinking. Many thoughts had formed in her head while the job was explained to her, but the most important question was: who was going to be killed there? After a few minutes she stood up and almost smiled.

"No more time to waste," Shizuri said to herself as she left ITEM's headquarters and headed towards the location that Kinuhata had given her.

Luck was on her side. She could feel it.

…

ITEM's attack on the facility was devastating. Papers flew in the air as scientists fled in a desperate attempt to escape death. Entire blocks of the facility were destroyed by Shizuri's Meltdowner, the green beams cutting through anything in its path. Expensive equipment quickly turned into scrap metal with a mere flick of her wrist and the human body turned to dust with a quick calculation in her head.

"Is this really it?" said Shizuri as the last of the scientists disappeared with a flash of green.

The facility had been completely trashed and the other members of ITEM had been dispatched to make sure everything had gone the way the client wanted it to. While Frenda and the others were busy with their own tasks, Mugino decided to look around the facility for some information. She dug through the ruins of the offices but she couldn't find what she was looking for.

"Goddamn it, I can't find shit!"

She let her ability go wild, destroying just about everything that wasn't destroyed yet. Shizuri felt the anger slowly fall but she still didn't feel happy. The job was finished very easily but she didn't care about the job. There was something bigger that she was after. Shizuri took one last good look around and kicked away from debris with her shoe. The outcome was the same as every job she had taken.

"I don't get shit and the beast gets more corpses, huh? It's always the same shit…"

The Meltdowner left empty handed and ITEM quietly withdrew afterwards.

**A Certain Park**

The park was shaded by the night and Shizuri stood in the middle of IT, looking up at the moon, an angry scowl on her face. She had excused herself from ITEM's headquarters and come to the park to think. She couldn't stop thinking about the mission earlier in the day. The tree shook from the force of her punch.

"This is the tenth fucking attempt."

The fourth strongest Level 5 in Academy City had tried ten times to capture just a single person. She failed every time. Her failures made a feeling of terrible rage rise up within her. Every failure only dug her grave deeper.

"I swore to myself that I wouldn't give up but how the hell am I supposed to find this asshole?!"

They called him "The Cowardly Weasel." Shizuri needed him in order to free herself from the dark side. Her attitude had been optimistic when she first set out to find him but her optimism quickly died when she realized that he was called "The Cowardly Weasel" for a reason. He managed to escape every time, frustrating her attempts. Hope diminished with every failed attempt to find him. Now she was willing to give up. She was willing to continue feeding the beast that was the dark side…

The tree was cut in half and Shizuri let out a cackle as she ran a hand through her hair, smiling crazily at the moon. A small orb of green light floated above her hand, casting an eerie green glow around her.

"No, I'm not going to stop here. Hell no! Just one more! I've cut every tie besides this one. Just one more and I'll be free!" Shizuri laughed, aware that she was starting to get light headed.

Stress and fatigue had built up. It was starting to take a toll on her body. Did she give a shit? No.

"Just one more corpse and I'll free! Just one more corpse!"

…

**Before I get into too much detail, yes, I realize that I still need to finish Level 5 Flood. I'm having a hard time finishing an important scene and I'm just really frustrated. That's why I wrote this story. This is my first attempt at using a canon character as the main character so I hope I didn't completely ruin Mugino or anything I write in the future for you guys. I just thought that it's about time I stop relying on OCs to get my message across. Plus, I don't think people really like OCs anyways. I guess you could call this A Certain Experimental Fanfic.**

**This isn't supposed to be all that long and yes, it has a very slight romantic theme between Mugino and Touma although he'll be showing up later. This won't be a long story. I'm hoping I can wrap this up in 2-3 chapters unless I think it's obvious that I'm trying to cram. **

**This story just deals with how Mugino came to be the person she is today and how she's trying her best to change. This chapter wasn't as good as I thought it would be but please review if you want to see more. I'm sure a lot of you guys will think Mugino is OOC so I'll continue to try to practice getting her in character. Anyways, please review if you want to see more and I'll see you all later! **


	2. The Seed

**Before I continue with this chapter, I want to thank the people who reviewed, followed, and alerted this story. I'm glad you guys thought this story was worth the time. **

…

Those who lived in Academy City worshipped and feared no deity. Instead, they feared and worshipped the seven Level 5s. All who partook in the schemes of Academy City hoped that they, too, could become a Level 5, wielding an ability so strong that an entire nation's army would seem like a flimsy house of cards. But they also hoped that they would not cross one for their wrath could easily rip buildings from their foundations, blast holes through the toughest steel, and defy the very laws of science that the city was built on.

The seven Level 5s were raised up on a pedestal like a very prestigious reward or a hard earned trophy. Level 5s attended the best schools Academy City had and received exorbitant allowances. They were granted priority over all students within the city and they were always the center of attention.

But being the center of attention isn't always a good thing.

The scientific community of Academy City quickly took notice of the unusually powerful abilities of the Level 5s and with good reason. Who could resist experimentation on exceptional specimens of the human species? Those who reached Level 5 were regarded as the ideal specimens for just about any experiment. Every experiment was accompanied by benefits that would entice the Level 5s to join. Such benefits only intensified the competition between the Level 5s and those of lower levels. Minor experimentation seemed like nothing in comparison to the grand benefits scientific companies were offering.

And so the Level 5s gladly offered themselves up to the scientists.

The experiments were minor in the beginning. Just some basic ability exercise and basic brain wave measurements. But with time, the experiments began to ask more and more of those who participated in them. Exercises were now carried out to the point of both physical and mental exhaustion and basic brain wave measurements were now much more invasive and in depth. Naturally, some began to dislike what the scientists were doing. They tried to back out.

"But you signed the contract!" said the scientists with glee as they waved the papers like a flag.

Scientific corporations began to grow bigger and bigger and richer and richer. They directly profited off the research and experiments they had done on the Level 5s. The aims of the scientists became more and more selfish as they realized that research and experimentation was the path to fame and fortune. Even worse, characters in the underworld of Academy City began to manipulate the Level 5s to do their dirty work, striking deals with scientific corporations. The result was the merging of the scientific community and the dark underbelly of Academy City, creating the dark side.

Need to obtain extensive data on abilities? Examine a Level 5! Need to have a centerpiece for your scientific study? Call in a Level 5! Need somebody to get rid of people you don't want around? Contact a scientific corporation that has a Level 5 but keep it off the books!

Still, the Level 5s stood strong. Some were proud of the fact that they were the only ones who were capable of providing the data and results the self-important men in white coats wanted. Others believed that the path they were going down would lead them to attain the ultimate power that would make them invincible. A few believed that they were helping others by giving the scientists what they wanted. One was just happy to lend a helping hand to the scientists.

Accelerator: the boy who exercised absolute control over vectors.

Dark Matter: the boy who could create twenty five thousand different types of energy, defying the laws of physics.

Railgun: the girl who controlled all aspects of electricity and magnetism.

Meltdowner: the girl who could create multiple beams capable of cutting through just about anything

Mental Out: the girl who could take control of the minds of many around her and influence to do her bidding.

The Hidden 6th: a person shrouded in mystery.

Attack Crash: the gemstone whose powers are yet to be understood.

They were the seven who were taken advantage of by Academy City and Mugino Shizuri hated them all.

Now, her hatred was not an equal hatred to all. No, it had different levels for different people and the hatred she felt was built up by not just her experiences while fighting them, but also from interactions with them whenever the Level 5s were gathered to be examined. She was certain that the other Level 5s didn't think much of her either. After all, the switch labeled "hatred" was flipped as soon as scientific corporations began to offer benefits.

And while Shizuri felt an intense hatred towards them, there was one she hated more than all the others. No, it was not herself. She found it difficult to hate herself the most out of seven rather despicable-in her mind anyways-people. No, Accelerator took the title as "Most Hated" in her mind. It was Accelerator who crushed her dream of becoming the strongest esper in Academy City. It was Accelerator who defeated her without lifting a single finger, smirking as her Meltdowner did no damage. He was the one who was responsible for her awful mistake of entering the dark side and the never ending rage she felt.

Any normal person would see obvious flaws in her logic but Shizuri didn't care. All logic and reason was thrown out the door the moment she lost to Accelerator.

He was the first to look down at her.

And while Shizuri hated the Railgun because she thought she could escape the dark side, Mental Out for her disgusting ability to make people her slaves, and the 6th's desire to stay hidden, Shizuri knew deep down that she, too, wanted to escape the dark side, had a disgusting ability, and wanted to sort of hide away where nobody would find her. She was a hypocrite through and through.

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that she was a hypocritical, psycho bitch. But it was better to be a hypocritical, psycho bitch than a slave to a man in a lab coat.

…

Shizuri found herself standing in the park she had gone to visit at night but some things had changed. The sun was out and shining, a direct contrast to the pale moon she recalled standing under. Also, she was standing next to the swings when she last remembered standing next to a tree that was nowhere even near the swings. Mugino ran a hand through her tea colored hair while looking around. Nobody was around. She scowled.

"Damn, I can't remember anything…" she mumbled as she growled in frustration before turning around.

"Rough night, huh?"

Her eyes immediately narrowed when she saw the kid sitting on the swings. He had a rather goofy grin on his face that she just wanted to punch. The little runt didn't look much older than six, dressed in an elementary school uniform, the student cap still on his head. He kept grinning at her. She scoffed.

"Did you get lost? Want me to help you find your mommy?" she said mockingly as the kid smiled and started swinging back and forth on the swing.

"I think I can handle myself, Miss Meltdowner." said the little boy, looking her right in the eye.

The two of them stood there, facing each other. Her focus was completely on the little boy's beady brown eyes. Her left hand curled into a fist and she clenched her teeth. The rage was coming back.

"What did you just call me?"

The kid ignored her and smiled. Shizuri was thinking about leaving and was about to when the kid started talking, every word a dagger in her heart.

"Who would have thought that I would meet the monster herself at this tiny little park. It's an honor." said the boy innocently as an orb of green light appeared in Mugino's hand.

_This fucking kid's going to get it now. I don't even give a shit if I have to kill this kid, _thought Shizuri as she braced herself to fire the Meltdowner. Uncontrollable anger clouded her thoughts. A damn kid was looking down at her! The young boy smiled when he saw Shizuri ready her ability.

"Go ahead and fire. Kill me the same way you killed all the others."

That made her stop. At this point she was trembling with rage. The kid's stupid expression just made her want to tear it apart using her Metldowner, but what he had said made her stop in her tracks.

"Don't fucking tell me you're with the dark side, you little runt. If you are, I won't be hesitating anymore. You'll just be another tie that needs to be cut."

"The dark side? No, they didn't send me. I just came to talk you out of whatever you're trying to do with your little plan."

Mugino smirked, trying to get her anger to subside. For some reason her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it shake her entire body. Whatever lightheadedness or fatigue she felt earlier before this whole screwed up situation, it was gone.

"I don't have to explain shit to you. Go run along and play your stupid video games, brat. I don't have time to be playing around with little shits like you." replied Shizuri, the little kid making a sad face.

"You won't tell me?" the kid shrugged indifferently. "Oh, well I guess it doesn't matter anyways. You'll never be able to become the number one esper in this city and you'll always be some third rate compared to Accelerator."

The green beams turned the swings next to the one the kid was sitting on into scrap. Mugino glared at the boy, another beam ready to go. The kid just looked annoyed. He hopped off the swing and stood in front of the Meltdowner, his hands on his hips.

"What's with you and violence? It's almost like you want people to think you're some raving lunatic who nobody likes and always thinks is a piece of-."

Shizuri's ability cut out a clean circle in the middle of the kids face. It was a straight shot through and Mugino's face was twisted with anger. She couldn't hold it anymore. Several more beams were created and she even reached for a silicon card just to prove a point that she was the one with power here. Despite having a nice clean hole carved straight through his skull, the kid kept on jeering.

"Is this really the only way you know how to solve problems? Blast them and blast them until they can't get up? Pathetic! You're just what they need, Mugino! A vicious beast to sic on enemies!" shouted the boy as several more beams shot through his body.

The silicon card flew into the air. Shizuri's rage was at its peak. Such anger hadn't been felt since she lost to Accelerator. She was going to kill the little brat. She didn't care anymore.

"HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FUCKING BRAT!" she roared as she shattered the card with her ability, sending tens of beams flying towards the kid.

…

She didn't get to see the damage her attacks did because she soon realized that she was sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a patient's gown. She blinked a few times and wrapped her arms around herself to check if she was truly back. Satisfied, she sighed and sat back in the bed, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She had lost control again. Still, she was thankful that it had just been a really screwed up nightmare. One question still remained in her head: how did she even get here?

It was safe to assume that the events in the park had never happened and that it had just been some sick practical joke played by the sleep fairy or whatever the hell. So, how the hell did she get from a park in the middle of the night to a hospital room—she checked the clock on the wall—past noon? Mugino didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it because the door soon opened and a frog-faced doctor came in, a look of concern on his face. He held onto a clipboard and wrote something down before speaking.

"I'm glad to see that you look much better than when you first got here. I hope that you slept well but I doubt it because you were thrashing about so much."

"How the hell did I even get here?"

"You were found by a passerby and quickly brought here. You slept for a good while and I think you were just overworked. You should be fine now unless you have something to say." explained Doctor Frog Face, Shizuri shaking her head.

The doctor stayed for a while to ask her some questions but left soon afterwards. The doctor said that she was good to leave the hospital whenever she was ready so Mugino changed and left her hospital room. Her nightmare had left her shaken but she couldn't let it stop her. The brat wasn't real but for some reason his words felt like they had actually been said to her in person. She clenched her teeth and walked out of the hospital. Mugino Shizuri didn't have time to be worrying about bad dreams. She had a cowardly weasel to catch.

…

**And that's the end for this one. This chapter seemed pretty abstract but dreams are something I really enjoy writing about so I thought it was appropriate for this fic. For those of you who are looking for Touma to show up, don't worry he'll show up. There's a reason why I decided to cut this chapter short although I didn't want to.**

**This story and Level 5 Flood will probably be updated next week because I have very little time to be writing this week due to unfortunate circumstances. **

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried to keep Mugino as IC as possible but I still think it could be improved. This chapter didn't exactly go as I planned but I hope you guys still like it. Please review if you want more and I'll see you all later.**


	3. The Roots

**I would like to thank everybody who reviewed and added this story to their favorites and alerts list. It means a lot to me.**

…

Those who served the dark side of Academy City grew rich through their illegal activities and went on to become powerful individuals who could make things happen with just a passing remark. They lived comfortable lives in the most expensive high rise apartments Academy City had to offer and they did not have regrets. Many also became famous as a result of their incredible scientific achievements. The Kihara family exemplified this perfectly. Every member of that family was either a scientific or mathematical genius. The head of the Kihara family, Kihara Gensei, was the most famous and most respected scientist in Academy City.

Gensei was a man who was one of the masterminds of the dark side of the city. He was the one who proposed the plans that would cause despair and chaos to reign in the city's laboratories and its back alleyways. The terrible trials in his experiments were well known in the scientific community, but nobody said anything about it. Why did nobody bother to say anything? Why were they so afraid? The answer was simple and very obvious to those who didn't agree with his overly ruthless ways: Gensei succeeded and produced results in a way that nobody in the scientific community could. Time and time again he had introduced new innovations to resounding applause.

Kihara Gensei's intelligence and terrible creativity silenced all who opposed him and made the Kihara family the ruling family in the dark side of Academy City. But did the Kihara family stand above all of the countless numbers of scientists, thugs, and test subjects who worked within the dark side?

No, there was someone else who truly controlled all aspects of the dark side. Someone who pulled the strings while hiding himself. The man's name was Aleister Crowley.

Those within the Innocent Majority assume that the Board of Directors was responsible for all things that went on in the city. They were only half right. The man known as Aleister Crowley held the position of General Superintendent and he was the chairman of the Board of Directors. He held absolute power over all members of the Board of Directors and everybody else within Academy City. But power meant nothing without understanding and awareness. Did Aleister Crowley really know all of the horrible things happening in the shadows of his glorious city?

Of course.

The General Superintendent resided within the Windowless Building, a tall and indestructible building in the middle of the city. From there he could watch the actions of everybody in the city using his secret camera network known as UNDER_LINE. Nothing escaped his careful gaze.

But was he just another thug working in the dark side to bring despair unto test subjects and those unfortunate to discover the projects?

Not at all. He was the greatest magician in the history of the world and the ruler of Academy City. While he knew the plans of those who schemed from the shadows, their plans did not concern him. The plans of Kihara Gensei and others of his ilk were just minor side projects compared to the plan that Aleister Crowley himself had devised. It was a plan that nobody in the world other than him could claim to understand. That plan was why the dark side continued to thrive.

It served as shielding. The dark side was merely an impenetrable shield that Aleister Crowley could use to develop his plans for Academy City. The dark side believed that it was its own master when in reality the hand of one man guided it from its infant and relatively harmless stage to the roaring beast it was now. As long as Aleister saw the dark side as a way to manipulate capable scientists into unknowingly carrying out steps in his master plan and hide his own motives from the Innocent Majority and the prying eyes of those who might catch a glimpse if it was not buried deep within the cesspool that was the darkness of Academy City.

Darkness was indeed deeply rooted with the city.

But despite the darkness's iron grip on the city, the sun continued to shine. It could not erase the deep stains and the horrible scars the darkness left but the darkness could not blot out the radiant sun that always hung over the city, shining down on those within the Innocent Majority.

Aleister Crowley did not let the city fall into complete chaos. His plan relied on the balance within the city and so he formed two organizations that would hold the darkness back to a certain extent.

Judgment, a police force made up of students whose job is mainly to respond to threats against the Innocent Majority.

Anti-Skill, a strike force made up of adults whose job is to engage in preemptive strikes against those who would harm the Innocent Majority. They swear to uphold the peace even at the cost of their lives.

Judgment and Anti-Skill are both determined to stop evil wherever it exists and while they appear to be making great progress in eradicating all crime, their impact was limited.

After all, the Board of Directors presided over all their activities. It would be foolish to think that Aleister would allow Judgment and Anti-Skill run free, bringing the dark side to ruin. The two police forces could only effectively destroy minor operations and detain small timers who held no real influence in the dark side. Judgment and Anti-Skill were small time heroes defeating small time grunts while the true bosses continued to send more and more grunts out for them to defeat.

Normally, the two sides would constantly be pushing against each other, no side making significant gains. It was reminiscent of trench warfare during The Great War. The only real gains came from the trump cards of the two sides. The dark side had the Kihara family and groups such as ITEM, SCHOOL, and STUDY. The Innocent Majority only had one trump card: a high school boy named Kamijo Touma.

The boy named Touma displayed a sense of heroism not seen in anybody aside from the Level 5 known as "Attack Crash." Time and time again Touma appeared on the scene of large scale operations, quickly shutting them down. He was the boy who singlehandedly defeated Accelerator, the strongest esper in all of Academy City. Accelerator's defeat ruined one of the largest scientific schemes in the city's history. Touma had no powers. He was a mere Level 0.

Saying that Touma was untouched by the dark side would be incorrect, however, because he was not an error in the calculations of Aleister's Crowley. The power residing within Touma's right hand and his impact on the world around him were not coincidental. Despite being the ultimate hero, Kamijo Touma was another part of Crowley's plan.

Nevertheless, Touma continued to be the hero Academy City needed to fight back against the dark side. He continued to help people selflessly, leading them to become better people. He continued to be the person Shizuri hated the most aside from Accelerator. Shizuri had never met Touma but the tales of his exploits made her sick with anger and disappointment.

Whenever she heard some rumor about the "Imagine Breaker" doing something heroic and helping somebody, she would ask the same questions to herself.

Where was he when she needed help? Where was this great hero when she was struggled to break free from the clutches of the dark side? Why hadn't he shown up to talk her out of the miserable plan she was currently carrying out?

She never received help from anybody. She had to become her own hero. The Metldowner didn't need any help because she had made it this far, hadn't she? She knew she could do it. She had done it so many times before. She didn't need the Imagine Breaker to help her. She knew how to kill. And she was good at it.

…

Mugino Shizuri walked into the park for the third time. She had recently been released from the hospital and planned to head back to ITEM's headquarters, but for some reason ended up at the park she had seen in her dreams. It was a perfect day. The sun was shining, the breeze felt amazing, and the kids were playing in the park. Mugino spotted a shaded bench close to a tree and quickly headed there, trying not to draw attention to herself. She didn't want to talk to kids right now.

In fact, she didn't feel like talking to anybody. She just wanted to be alone so that she could think. Shizuri recalled the last few days and sighed. Not a lot of thinking had taken place over the past few days. Impulsive actions had dominated the precious amount of time she had spent finding absolutely nothing. That pissed her off.

"God fucking damn it," she said as she slammed her fist down on the bench.

Time was something she didn't have. Wealth, beauty, and a powerful ability didn't mean shit if time's up meant her eternal slavery. Distancing herself from the dark side by cutting ties was easy at first. It was like target practice. There were obvious targets that any idiot with a pistol could hit from miles away. They went down easily and the next set of targets popped up, ready to be shot. The targets got smaller and smaller with every round. Her Meltdowner had gotten her to the last round. One target in the final round. The final target should have been easy for her to hit even though it was without a doubt tiny and extremely far away. Unfortunately, the target was all of those things and zipped around so quickly that her Meltdowner wasn't fast enough to hit it. To make things worse, the target seemed to predict all of her movements, making it impossible to destroy in a crossfire.

That last target was The Cowardly Weasel. And Mugino Shizuri, the fourth strongest esper in Academy City, could not catch him not matter how hard she tried. It drove her insane. The Cowardly Weasel was the last person who held a significant tie with her aside from her old ability trainer who had long faded from both her memory and history. She pulled out her phone. Thinking about being enslaved by the dark side because she couldn't find one damn person motivated her.

She knew it was time to take another job. It was time to fulfill her role as a slave again. Her thoughts went to her teammates at ITEM. Frenda, Kinuhata, Rikou, and even that retarded Shiage. For a moment she considered bringing them to help her.

"Goddamn, I really am an idiot…" sighed Mugino as she stood up, shaking her head.

The fact that she even considered getting help from the rest of ITEM disappointed her. All that time spent taking jobs alone and that was her thought? Getting help from people she was trying to escape from? Shameful. Her hands curled into fists.

She would kill them if necessary.

Mugino walked out of the park, her hand tightly clutching her phone. She would have started crying if she was anybody but the Meltdowner. From the bottom of her heart, she hoped that she wouldn't be the one pulling the trigger.

…

"Too fucking easy."

The flames cast an awful orange glow against the concrete as Mugino walked away from the burning building, a disappointed look on her face. Another research center attack job. To think she had once enjoyed attacking research centers, eager to look into the despairing faces of the scientists before vaporizing them. Eager to find targets to lead her away from slavery.

Shizuri quickly walked away from the ruined building and headed towards ITEM headquarters. She had spent too much time away. They would soon suspect something was wrong.

The sun had long set and the streets of Academy City were empty, a stark contrast to the ridiculously busy streets during the daytime. The air was cool and Shizuri actually found herself shivering. She stopped in front of an alleyway and viewed it with a look of disgust. She never used alleyways to get anywhere, but she didn't have much time before ITEM dispatched search parties to find her. She didn't want to explain herself to anybody, even if the interrogators were secretly shaking in fear. The Meltdowner entered the alleyway, walking quickly.

"A lot cleaner than I expected…" murmured Shizuri as she walked, expecting heaps of garbage to be piled up everywhere.

She had been walking for a good few minutes when she heard the voices.

"Get the fuck back here!"

Mugino was approaching the entrance to a new alleyway when she saw a young boy run by, a bag flailing wildly as he ran. He wore a Judgment armband and the look of desperation on his face made her stop. Shots rang out and she heard the boy fall to the ground.

"We got the courier. Proceeding to destroy the evidence."

She saw three men wielding assault rifles walk slowly past the exit of the alleyway. They didn't look like thugs. Their faces were grim as they headed towards where the boy had been killed. She watched silently, hidden in the shadows.

"Poor kid. Got himself caught up in something he never asked for."

Mugino entered the alleyway, behind the armed men. This was far more interesting than an attack on a research facility. She cleared her throat and grinned. The men instantly turned, guns raised.

"What do you think you three are doing? Attempting to destroy evidence? That's a serious crime and you've even murdered somebody!" said Mugino mockingly as the men glanced at each other.

The green beams that came shortly after made short work of the three men, whatever their names were. She was more interested in what the boy had been carrying. She carefully walked over to the body and knelt down to open the bag. It was filled with files on some scientific organization called the Society of Organized Science. Shizuri's heart started to race. Was there a possibility? No way. It seemed too good to be true.

And that's when she saw the file on a man named Saul Karter. His alias? The Cowardly Weasel.

Shizuri carefully picked up the bag, trembling with excitement. She looked back at the boy and felt a tear coming up in her eye. She was about to thank the boy who had given his life to save hers when a boy's voice ruined the moment.

"Did you just kill him?!"

…

**I want to use this sentence to thank everybody who waited patiently for this chapter to be uploaded. This one was more difficult for me because when I started it, I wasn't feeling what I felt when I wrote the first two chapters. Thankfully, I overcame it and this chapter was finished within the day. **

**Originally, I wanted to add Touma to this chapter but I decided not to because once again, I thought I was cramming. Rest assured, he will still be there although I believe everybody already knows what the next chapter is going to be about. **

**There was definitely some OOC especially towards the end but I've come to see OOC as something that can be tolerated when used in moderation. I can't have Mugino happily skipping with Frenda and co but I can have her almost shed a single tear. Anyways, please review if you wish to see more! **


	4. The Stem

**I would like to thank those who reviewed, and put this story on their favorites and alerts lists. You guys make my day.**

…

The dark side, however, was not uniform in their evil. There was a hierarchy of cruelty that was enforced by fear. Some people in the dark side only entered because the dark side provided them with the opportunity to fulfill their greatest dreams. Those people did not want to see the terrible results of their actions and often ran from the awful consequences in an attempt to keep their sanity and humanity. Others entered because they truly liked to bring despair onto other people. They made up the raving lunatics and psychopaths who dwelled in the filth that was the darkness of Academy City. They could not be reasoned with and had long lost their minds as a result of their crooked actions. But there was still another category of people who were far more despicable than the other two.

They enjoyed the chaos they created. They were not raving lunatics. They were cold and calculating human beings who were aware of everything going around them. They did not run from the consequences of their experiments and actions.

No, they embraced the consequences.

SOS, or rather, the Society of Organized Science, was a group made up of people who believed that science was the panacea of mankind's ills. Revolutionaries on the political scale, they pushed ethics to the side in order to set up experiments that often resulted in terrible losses. But they did not care.

In their minds, they could walk away with a single piece of information and that would be enough to justify the deaths of thousands of subjects.

Others in the scientific community, however, did not agree with members of SOS. The others were frightened by SOS's dogged loyalty to science and their awful experiments. But they couldn't do anything about them for they provided results that far outstripped anybody else's.

Led by the city's greatest scientist, SOS prospered and enjoyed great prestige and fear. Nobody could stand in their way.

Their peers called them animals. SOS embraced their position as animals. The members even took on nicknames like, "the Cruel Tiger" and "the Elegant Spider" in order to demonstrate that they were not afraid of the meaningless words of those who were too scared to step into true enlightenment.

But they were not safe either.

Praise and also fear from their peers had made members of SOS complacent. It was not long before some of their peers were pushed to the edge, hiring assassins to get rid of the organization that seemed to embody Hell itself. Targeted because of their cruel methods and radical thought, members of SOS began to die out.

The Sly Fox was the first to die.

The first death was all it took. SOS began to fall apart as assassins and law enforcement began to close in from all sides. After the slaughter, the few remaining SOS members went into hiding, the hunters becoming the hunted.

…

The sun was rapidly sinking and the high school boy named Kamijou Touma hurried as he walked on the sidewalk towards the convenience store where he usually bought his coffee. His high school uniform was a bit ragged, but the boy looked fine. Touma sighed as he kept walking.

"Such misfortune."

Today had been an extremely unfortunate day for Touma. He had overslept and as a result was late for school, lost his homework on the way to school, had to deal with afterschool lessons because he didn't have his homework, had water splashed on him as he walked home, and lastly, Biribiri had challenged him to yet another fight.

The result was a very tired Kamijou Touma who just wanted to get some coffee and go home to sleep. Touma suddenly stopped. Home.

"Oh shit…"

His thoughts flashed to a certain nun who was living in his apartment. He had managed to make a hasty breakfast for her, but he hadn't been home to make her lunch_ or _dinner. Touma gulped audibly and tried to move forward but he hesitated.

Was it too late to get home in time to make dinner? Was he doomed no matter how fast he got home? How mad would Index be? Would his head be spared her vicious bites?

"Such misfortune!" shouted Touma as he suddenly took off running, his mind spinning with the dreadful scenario that would no doubt become reality the second he opened his door.

The boy sprinted towards the convenience store and got there just in time to see a sort of familiar white haired boy wearing a black t-shirt walk out with a bag full of black coffee cans. Touma watched him walk away, trying to remember if the white haired boy was somebody he knew.

Touma shook his head and ran inside. Now was not the time to be thinking about such mundane matters. He immediately ran to the back of the store where the coffee was always stocked. He prayed that there was still some left.

Not a single can was left.

…

After failing to buy even a single can of coffee, Touma sulked out of the convenience store. He had accepted the fate that most likely awaited him at the apartment and began the dreaded trudge towards home. Index was no doubt waiting for him, ready to sink her teeth into his head the second he entered.

_Bang bang bang_

The shots startled Touma. He looked around, trying to figure out what had just happened.

_Gunshots? They didn't sound too far…somebody has to be in trouble, _thought Touma as he ran towards the direction of the gunshots. Unfortunately, no more shots were heard and Touma was soon confused by the winding maze that was the alleyways of Academy City. Nevertheless, he continued to search and a sudden green flash from a nearby alleyway caught his attention. He carefully peeked into the alleyway, preparing himself for whatever he might find.

A dead body was clearly visible.

As soon as he saw the body his stomach was instantly upset. Touma doubled over, struggling to keep himself from vomiting. Despite being the great hero of the Innocent Majority, Touma was not used to death.

_Keep it together, _thought Touma as he slowly looked up, ignoring the sickening feeling in his stomach.

He saw somebody standing next to the body, taking something from what the dead person had been carrying. Anger immediately flared up from inside of him. He could think of only one word: murderer. His anger only grew as the upsetting feeling in his stomach quickly subsided and was replaced by fiery rage. He entered the alleyway, fists ready.

"Did you just kill him?!"

…

"What?"

Mugino turned around at the sound of the angry voice coming from behind her. Her eyes widened when she saw who was standing there. It was Kamijou Touma, the "hero" of the people. Anger was clearly visible on his face and Shizuri felt her rage surface once again. She didn't even try to push it down this time. _The _Kamijou Touma.

"You were the one who killed that person, aren't you!" shouted Touma as he started to walk towards Mugino, his pose threatening.

Several orbs of green light appeared around Mugino. They floated around her like deadly little will-o-wisps and Shizuri glared at Touma.

"I'm in a good mood today. Run and do it fast." said the Meltdowner, avoiding Touma's question.

Normal people would have long since run away. Some brave people would have run after Mugino threatened them with her power, but Touma was the hero. Not just _a_ hero, but _the _hero. He planted his feet on the ground and stood in front of her, never for a second breaking eye contact with Shizuri.

"I'm not running." said Touma.

_Shit, he's really not going to move is he? Damn it all, _thought Mugino as she pointed her finger at Touma, a green beam shooting past the high school boy. The attack did not hit Touma, but only barely. Touma did not move. More beams, all warning shots. Touma still did not move. Mugino took a step back, frustrated by Touma's persistence.

"Why the hell won't you run, damn it!" she shouted as Touma began to walk towards her, his gaze fierce.

"You think threatening and killing people is ok? I'll break that screwed up illusion of yours." said Touma.

Mugino kept taking steps back, firing warning shots at Touma. Despite the look of anger on her face, she was panicking on the inside. For some reason, she, the Metldowner, could not bring herself to fire a lethal shot at the high school hero.

_What the hell? Not at a time like this, damn it! I can't be taken down here!_

Finally, she just stopped caring. She let her ability go wild, firing her beams all over the place hoping that one of them would hit Touma by chance. One of her attacks happened to align perfectly and shot towards Touma. Mugino watched, a grim look on her face. Smoke filled the alleyway and Mugino covered her eyes with her arm, turning to walk away.

"We're not finished."

The boy's voice surprised Mugino. She turned around to see him, his right hand outstretched to look like he had blocked the attack.

"My Meltdowner…didn't work?" asked Mugino, a look of utter confusion on her face. "Don't tell me you're a new fucking Level 5."

Touma shook his head and looked Shizuri in the eye.

"I'm a Level 0."

"What the hell? Level 0?! A fucking Level 0 can make my power irrelevant?!" Shizuri completely lost it. "Then what the hell am I doing? What's the fucking point of killing off the people from the dark side, then? If my power can be negated by a Level 0 then there's no way in hell that I'll be freed! God damn it!"

Whatever had stopped Shizuri from throwing direct attacks before, it was gone. Her beams lit up the alleyway, heading straight for Touma. His right hand negated all of his attacks.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I can say that you're not powerless. As for killing people from the dark side to obtain freedom, isn't that exactly what the dark side wants you to do? Like I said, I'll be the one to break those messed up illusions of yours!" shouted Touma as he started to run towards Mugino, fists clenched.

"I don't want to hear all this from you!" shouted Mugino as she reached for a silicon card.

She was about to throw it when it slipped from her hand, falling to the ground. Shizuri's eyes widened as she watched Touma get closer.

_Well, shit. This is where it ends, huh?_

"If you seriously believe the things you said, you're not living your life correctly!" shouted Touma as his fist connected with Shizuri's face.

One punch was all it took. The Meltdowner lay on the ground, defeated by a mere Level 0. The bag containing all the documents on Saul Karter and other members of SOS sat on the ground next to her and she saw Touma dust himself and quickly call Anti-Skill before heading home to meet his own fate.

For some odd reason, there was no hatred left in her. She grabbed the bag and used the rest of the strength she had left to stand up, using the alleyway wall as support. She understood now. And without further incident, the Meltdowner went home.

…

**This chapter was shorter than the others because it only really detailed some of Touma's misfortune before fighting Shizuri. This was the second last chapter and the last chapter will probably end up being even shorter. I apologize if Touma and Shizuri are/still are OOC. I tried my best to figure out what they would say and do in these situations. **

**Unfortunately, I had to write this chapter a full week after the last one so it was difficult to get back into the writing spirit. **

**Thank you for sticking with me to the second to last chapter and I hope that you will continue to support me to the very end. Please review if you would like to see more! **


	5. The Flower

**Well, here it is. This will be the last chapter of this story. I understand that a few people are not happy with the fact that the story is ending with only six chapters, but I never intended for this story to be all that long. In fact, I'd say that I've extended it a few chapters. I do not, however, believe that this is the end of Mugino's story. I have toyed with the idea of a sequel, but I do not know when it will be published if at all. **

**Regarding future stories for the Raildex universe, I am considering an Othinus/Ollerus story because I think they would make a nice power couple. If you would support Othinus/Ollerus then please let me know. **

**Anyways, I hope you guys will enjoy this short finale. I truly enjoyed writing this story and I think I am more confident in using canon characters in my stories. I couldn't have done it without all of the support I received. **

…

"It's far too early for work."

The driver of the black sports car grumbled as he steered his car towards his office. The man driving the sports car was a young man with black that was still damp from the hasty shower he had taken. His wire rimmed glasses were sliding down the bridge of his nose and he wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a tie that was not yet properly tied. The man squinted at the rising sun and continued driving, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

The man's name was Saul Karter.

It did not take long for Saul to reach his destination. The District 7 Recycling and Waste Management Facility soon filled up the car's windshield and the car was maneuvered into a parking spot with no other cars around. The car's interior grew dark, the sun's rays blocked by the industrial facility. Saul checked the time before turning the car off. He had a few minutes to get ready. He quickly fixed his tie and pushed his glasses back onto his face and checked to make sure everything was fixed. He smiled at himself in the rearview mirror and got out of the car, taking note of the morning chill. It was time for work.

…

Saul turned the lights in his office on and grabbed the lab coat off of the hanger and put it on, comforted by the feeling of the fabric. Putting on any lab coat brought back fond memories. The room was spacious but modestly furnished with a wooden desk dominating the center of the room, a computer and several stacks of paper on top. Saul sat behind his desk and turned the computer on to begin checking on some data he had received last night when his phone rang. He answered it quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Saul."

The voice on the other end was female and she sounded as if she was greeting an old friend. Saul smiled and sat back in his chair.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise. I don't believe we've spoken on the phone in a while, Byouri."

"Yes, it has been a while hasn't it? In any case, I don't have much time for small talk. I'm calling to let you know that the SOS documents have been leaked."

Saul sat at his desk silently for a few seconds, just blinking. No emotions were visible and the man replied to Byouri, his voice even.

"If the documents have been leaked, how are we even having this conversation?" asked Saul quietly.

"It's because the documents have been leaked, but not publicly. A member of Judgment managed to snatch the documents and I sent some hired men after the courier. They took care of the courier but I never heard back from them. It's safe to say that some unknown third party is currently in possession of the documents or Judgment managed to counterattack to take the documents back. Either way, the organization is finished. It's over, Saul."

"What? No, the organization isn't finished. It can't be, Byouri!" said Saul, his voice nervous.

"Even you must acknowledge our defeat, coward. I feel sorry for you. Unlike the rest of us, you don't have any allies."

"Don't give me that, wheelchair Kihara! I thought you were my ally. You still are my ally!" shouted Saul angrily as Kihara Byouri chuckled from the other end.

"I won't deny that we were once allies. Perhaps more than just allies, but that's all in the past now. The situation SOS faces now is one of extinction and I'm afraid that family comes before everything. You need not worry about me. The Kihara family always prevails. Stay safe, Saul."

The call ended and Saul dropped the phone onto the desk, a look of pure despair coming onto his face. He slammed his fist onto the desk and quickly opened a drawer in his desk. He reached inside and pulled out the gun he had hidden inside. The scientist's heart beat rapidly as he looked at the gun, considering the possibilities.

_I can make it out of this on top. I've managed to live this long…, _thought Saul as he stood up from the desk, pistol in his right hand. He opened the door to leave and immediately received a sharp kick to the gut, sending the man flying back. The fourth strongest esper in Academy City entered the office, quietly closing the office door behind her. Saul aimed the gun at her and slowly stood up, his left hand clutching where Shizuri had kicked him. His eyes were wide with fear as Shizuri stood before him.

"You… What the hell are you doing here?!" shouted Karter.

"I've been looking for you for a very long time, Cowardly Weasel. You've led me on a wild goose chase that really fucked with my head, you know that?" a green orb appeared just above her hand. Shizuri looked the Cowardly Weasel in the eyes. "After you, I won't need to kill ever again."

After hearing Shizuri's words, Saul smiled and began to laugh. He was laughing so hard that the gun shook.

"That's really too bad, Mugino. I seriously thought I was going to die." Saul adjusted his glasses and sneered at Shizuri. "I have your files. Hell, I was the one who oversaw your power development! I know all your limitations and you better bet that I'm going to be the one who lives in the end!"

The gun fell to floor, Saul's body falling to the ground. The punches were powerful, knocking the wind out of the scientist. One punch connected with the man's face and blood splattered the ground. Shizuri stood over the man, her face not one of uncontrollable rage, but one of pity.

"What the hell are you going on about?" asked Shizuri as she grabbed the gun off the floor, looking at it. "Don't tell me you lost it after just one kick."

The scientist groaned as he rolled over to look at Shizuri, his face bloody. He looked Shizuri in the eyes and let out a long groan.

"No… No, don't look at me with those goddamn eyes! You're a fucking monster! You've been killing my colleagues, my _friends, _and those are the eyes you show me before I die? No. No!" said Saul angrily as Shizuri looked down at him, gun in one hand and her Meltdowner ready to fire in the other.

Saul's words didn't even affect her. It wasn't just about her anymore. The Meltdowner was part of something bigger now. She had always lived a black and white life, but now she would appreciate all the colors in the world. She had earned that freedom.

"Good bye, Saul."

…

Mugino Shizuri left the facility as quietly as she had entered. Nobody had seen her come in and she hoped that nobody had heard the commotion inside. Mugino looked up at the sky. The sky was blue and the clouds floated in the sky lazily. But the best part was the sun. Shizuri could feel the sun's warmth. The bad people who had taken her freedom were all gone. She had stepped out of the darkness and into the light. There could only be steps forward from now on. Not a single step back. She was free.

…

**Once again, thank you for sticking with this story. This was a great experiment and I enjoyed every second of it. I hope you enjoyed the end and this story in general and I hope to see your continued support in my future stories/the sequel to this one. **


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